Justice League of Africa
by 2ndBlackJedi
Summary: Set in the DC universe. Several superheroes operate in the continent of Africa, the second largest continent on Earth. This is the story of their lives and a mission that brings them all together into one team.
1. Night Time in Tinasha

Several armed guards paced the deck of a cargo ship, travelling east a fair distance out from the coast of West Africa. Its name, 'The Storm of Mjolnir II', was emblazoned on the side in large print. The men were all equipped with FN P90s. A Belgian made gun, capable of firing at nine hundred rounds per minute with an effective range of two hundred metres. Each guard was trained in how to handle this weapon effectively and make each shot count. Should they be unable to do so for any reason, each guard was also equipped with a taser. Should they be unable to use either weapon for any reason, every single one was trained Krav Maga, an effective and efficient martial art. Should they be unable to fight whoever was stupid enough to try and steal their cargo for any reason, each guard was equipped with a radio, effective at long range or even under water.

All the escorts of The Storm of Mjolnir II were there because of three people. The first is themselves, as each expected a large paycheck for their services. The second is Phillip Marksbury. At one time Africa's leading industrialist, but after weeks of scandal, several truths had come to light which had chipped away at his business, the most damaging incident being his own son, Ancil, being arrested and charged for several murders. Adding to funds slipping through his fingers, Marksbury had to deal with a single unstoppable force that seemed hellbent on destroying him. The third person. David Zavimbe.

David had formerly been known as the hero Batwing. An agent of Batman and his international crime fighting group, Batman Inc. He used his skills, resources and determination to bring justice to the city of Tinasha and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After the death of his close friend, Matu Ba, he began to question how effective he could really be in this part of the world and whether the symbol of the Bat meant the same thing here. He gave up the Batwing suit, intending to try and do things his own way. It didn't take him long to regret that decision.

Nonetheless, the suit was gone, and there was a new Batwing. David was a hero with no name, only his reputation. Yet that was more than enough to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. His outfit was no longer a highly advanced suit of armour, capable of flight. Instead he wore a basic uniform. The same one he used prior to Batman's visit. Back then, David had channeled his energy and righteous fury into battling those who would threaten, steal, cripple and kill. The uniform was designed for functionality, composed of simple clothing and light bullet resistant armour. David armed himself with a utility belt, eskrima sticks and a mask coupled with goggles to hide his identity.

The goggles were of his own design and capable of many forms of vision, including night vision which he used now. He looked up to see the ship before him. He rode in a dark blue speed boat, with a specially designed engine that ran almost silently. Those above could not hear him and in the darkness of night, would have trouble seeing him. He did one last inspection on his equipment, some of it left over from the armory Batman provided. Once ready, he pulled his mask on and got to work.

David pulled out a gun shaped device from a duffel bag before him. The device was slightly larger than his hand and had a hook with three claws pointed forward sticking into the barrel. David waited patiently for the right moment, having learned the guard's patterns long ago. He squeezed the trigger and the hook shot out, dragging a thin, but strong filament behind it. It dug into the side of the side of the ship, just in time for the guard nearby to be too far to hear it. The speed boat would detect the ship's position and follow it, another gift of the Batman's, and designed by Lucius Fox. Letting the speedboat do its job, David flicked a switch on the back of the grapple gun, causing the mechanism to retract and pull him up. His eyes narrowed behind the goggles. It was time to get to work.

_Meanwhile, in the city of Tinasha..._

Mari Jiwe McCabe is many things. She is a native of Zambesi, a model, the inheritor of a powerful amulet, capable of tapping into the morphogenetic field and acquiring the attributes of any animal she chooses and she is the superhero known as Vixen. Right now, she is also surrounded. Her investigations into a smuggling ring led her to what she thought was a warehouse used for taken goods. However, inside she didn't find stolen electronics as expected, but a small army of thugs. Their leader, Lale Diawara, the second man to use the name Blood Tiger, stood behind his men. Blood Tiger grinned, the red stripes painted on his face made the expression look fierce and unnatural.

"Vixen..." Blood Tiger said the name slow, licking his upper lip as he did. "If you wanted to stop us transporting our gains, you are already too late. They were moved hours ago. But you _are_ right on time to meet my army. For rabble, they are impressive, as you will soon see,"

The thugs surrounding her pulled out crowbars, knives and machetes. They moved to encircle her, leaving no escape. Vixen clenched her fists as her eyes moved quickly from one thug to another as she turned in a slow circle, coming to face Blood Tiger again. The leader crossed his arms smugly.

"You should not have come here alone," Blood Tiger said. "You are outnumbered thirty to one,"

"She is _not_ alone," said a male voice from somewhere above them. Everyone present looked up, but saw nothing. Until a second later that is, when a man seemed to appear out of nowhere, standing upside down with his feet on the roof. The man wore a wide brimmed hat with a spider symbol that somehow managed to not fall off. His black cloak has the same symbol and he wears it over a red and black outfit that matches the colour of the hat. A grey mask covers his face and he holds a wooden staff in his hand.

The man jumps from the roof and flips, landing on his feet beside Vixen. "And you should recount, Blood Tiger. Please tell me if you were counting yourself or not. I need to know exactly how many bad men I will be knocking unconscious tonight,"

Blood Tiger growls and commands his gang to attack as he makes his escape out the rear door.

"I guess he was not," Said the man with an amused tone and a chuckle as the thugs charge the two heroes.

"Focus, Anansi," Vixen tells the man as she ducks under a knife swipe. "And we can laugh about this later,"

Vixen channels the agility of a spider monkey and backflips, kicking the knife wielding thug in the face as she does. The man falls as the kick connects and Mari lands gracefully. She moves swiftly, dodging attacks and responding with her fists.

"I'd rather laugh now," Anansi said as a group of thugs carrying crowbars advanced on him. He simply winked at them. Suddenly, several copies of Anansi appeared around him. The thugs stopped in confusion for a moment, then one tried attacking. The crowbar passed through a copy and it faded away, revealing itself to be an illusion. Before that bandit could react, he was struck by the real Anansi's staff. The others tried to attack, but were met with more illusions. In their confusion, Anansi easily moved between his copies, knocking out the gang members before they realized which one of him wasn't a fake.

"You're welcome for the rescue, by the way," Anansi called to Vixen. She seemed to ignore him as she channeled the kicking power of a horse and struck a thug in the chest, sending him flying into his comrades. Another tried to hit her with a machete from behind. Vixen reacted quickly by spinning around and sending a kick between the legs of the unfortunate man. The bandit made a high pitched yelp of pain and dropped his blade, followed but a soft whine as he slowly fell to the ground and curled up in a ball.

"I haven't decided if I'm going to thank you yet," Vixen finally retorted to Anansi. "Blood Tiger is escaping,"

"For the moment," Anansi replied. "Go after him, I'll wrap up here,"

Vixen lands a flying kick on a thug and he ends up halfway through an empty wooden crate. "You sure?"

The real Anansi stands in the middle of the warehouse and twirls his staff over his head. He slams it into the ground and several more copies appear around the warehouse. They all have the same amused smirk. "Go. Bring down your prey,"

Vixen nods and uses the power of a bull to charge through the gang and out the door. She sees tracks left behind by a vehicle and knows Blood Tiger has likely driven as far as he can by now. She growls as she starts channels another animal.

Blood Tiger has the gas pedal floored in the brown jeep he drives. The dirt road is bumpy, but he traverses it easily. He was glad that he had got away, and that the stolen goods were already in another warehouse. The buyer that contacted him had wanted something specific in their merchandise and was not the type to accept failure. He was still patting himself on the back when he glanced behind him. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Vixen growled again as she closed in on the vehicle. She was channeling the speed of a cheetah and running on all fours. Her lithe form mimicked that of the jungle cat. She knew Blood Tiger saw her and couldn't help giving him the same grin he gave her earlier. Once she was close, she channeled the jumping power of a cricket, and leaped high into the air. Her arc took her over the jeep and at the right moment, she channeled the weight of an elephant. She landed like a ten ton brick on the vehicle, crushing the front end and sending Blood Tiger flying out the shatter window. He rolled several times before stopping and groaning in pain. Vixen calmly stepped off the wreckage and advanced on him slowly.

"I've got some questions for you," Vixen said to the gang leader, lying on the ground in pain before her. "You can answer, or I can show you what it's like to be sat on by an elephant. Your choice,"

Blood Tiger winced, deciding that was an experience he could live without. Vixen stood over him. "Where have you moved the stolen electronics?"

"A storage building several miles north of here. By now our buyers have already taken what they want. The rest is going on the black market,"

Vixen frowned in irritation and continued her interrogation. "Who are your buyers?"

"I can't tell you _everything_. You have the location. That is enough, isn't it? I have a reputation to consider,"

Vixen glares down at Blood Tiger. Without saying a word, she lifts her leg over him and lowers it down slowly on his chest. Still sore from the crash, Blood Tiger was now also having trouble breathing under the pressure.

"Okay, okay! I'll talk! Just stop!" Blood Tiger gasped. He tried to catch his breath after Vixen moved her leg. She starts tapping her foot impatiently.

"One of our buyers, he's quiet. Secretive. He only contacts me by phone and tells us to drop off his merchandise in locations outside the city. He picks it up after we leave. I know nothing of him," Blood Tiger says. Vixen stars to raise her leg again and Blood Tiger continues frantically. "B-but the other is a representative from a Chinese triad. A gang that calls themselves The Scarlet Dragons. I swear that's all I know! Don't step on me again…"

Vixen lets out a low, menacing tiger growl. "You and your crew are done here,". She heard the sound of incoming police and EMS and she left Blood Tiger there for them to find. He gritted his teeth and watched her dash off again. Already he was plotting his revenge, but part of him was glad she didn't actually sit on him


	2. The Storm Of Mjölnir II

David tightly gripped the grapple gun in his right hand. His legs and other hand were pressed against the side of the cargo ship. He holds that position for a moment longer, then swings up onto the deck. The filament retracts into the gun, making noise as it breaks out of the hole it pierced. David slips into the shadows behind a shipping container as a guard comes over to investigate the sound. The guard approaches the container with their P90 drawn and David waits for just the right moment to strike. He whirls around the corner of the blue rusted metal box and uses both hands to thrust the guard's gun up into their face. The sudden blow causes the guard to let go of their gun. David grips it and uses the butt of the gun to strike the guard in the forehead. With deft movement, he grabs the guard before the hired gun can hit the ground. David drags the guard and his gun into the shadows. He disassembles the gun, and then starts to make his way into the ship.

David methodically made his way to the aft end of the boat, avoiding the guard patrols. He paused between two containers and rolls out after a guard passes. David moves swiftly to a thick metal door. To the side of the door is a small keypad. To open the door, one would have to enter a six digit code. There were one million possible combinations, but David had no intention of trying them all. He takes out a circular gadget from his belt and clamps it over the keypad. The device makes a soft whirring sound as it hacks the keypad and a moment later a click can be heard as the door unlocks. David heads inside, closing the door behind him and putting the device back in his belt as he does.

Before him is a metal staircase leading down. David moves quickly and quietly. He had only seconds before a guard passed by this area. He heads through another door which leads to a catwalk that he makes his way across. Below him, several guards patrol the cargo holding, but the vigilante had another target. A few moments of stealth later, David stands in the engine room of the ship. With no other guards in this room, he could put his plan into action.

David reaches into his belt and pulls out a small but powerful explosive. He crouches down to set it up, then stops as if he's heard something. He puts the explosive back and stands. He takes out his eskrima sticks instead, gripping them tightly.

"I know you've been following me since I got on board," David says. He turns his head, looking over his shoulder. "Show yourself, so we can get your beating over with,"

A man steps out of the shadows of the engine room behind David. He wears blue and black paramilitary armour with a grey arm plate, matching the grey hockey mask on his face. "You really think that's how this is gonna go down?" The mercenary says as he smirks and casually twirls a hockey stick in his hand. "We won't even have time for introductions,"

"I know who you are…Sportsmaster," David replies as he turns to face his opponent.

"The one an' only," Sportmaster said. "Now I gotta escort you off my employer's boat. Are we doing this the easy way, or the hard way?" Sportsmaster holds the hockey stick with both hands.

"The hard way," David responds and prepares for a fight as Sportsmaster charges.

Back at the warehouse in Tinasha used by Blood Tiger, Anansi swings his staff into the face of the last thug standing. As they fall, the illusionist twirls his staff and the copies disappear.

"Hm," Anansi mused. "There were only twenty six,"

At that moment, Vixen returns. "Anansi, are you…" she sees the many stunned bandits. "Oh. Never mind.

Anansi simply smirked. "I am doing much better than they are. Did you learn anything from Blood Tiger?"

"I did. He told me about his buyers and about another storage place north of here. Did you find out anything here?"

Anansi shrugs. "I learned Blood Tiger can't count, but that's nothing new. Let's get to this other building."

Anansi and Vixen exited through a side door. Before them, several ATVs were parked. Anansi attached his staff to his waist and hopped on a bright red one. "Shall we ride then?"

Vixen smirked. "No thanks. A hawk doesn't need to ride."

She channelled the flight of a hawk and soared up before Anansi could ask her how she could do that without wings. He revved the ATV and followed her, deciding to add that to his list of things to wonder about.

In the engine room of 'The Storm of Mjolnir II', Sportsmaster swung and jabbed rapidly, using the hockey stick as a bo staff. David deflected the attacks, trying to defend himself against his opponent's advantage in reach. Sportsmaster made a low sweep at his legs and David hopped over it. Just as David touched the ground again, Sportsmaster had brought the stick up for a high attack and David smacked it away with the eskrima in his left hand. The vigilante stepped back, and then came towards the mercenary with a strike using the eskrima in his right hand. Sportsmaster sidestepped and raised his stick to catch the blow. Sportsmaster then turned his staff to the right as he moved to the left, using David's own momentum to his advantage. David went farther forward than he anticipated but before he could recover, Sportsmaster struck him in the back, sending him falling forwards. David barely rolled out of the way in time to escape the hockey stick being slammed into the ground right where his head was.

Just as David recovered, Sportsmaster swung downwards. David crossed his eskrima as he stood, catching the blow, and pushing Sportsmaster's hands up. The mercenary was exposed for a moment and David landed a couple quick blows before Sportsmaster brought his stick down again. Sportsmaster was on the defensive and now forced back from a flurry of eskrima strikes. David brought both his sticks down at the same time in a powerful attack that Sportsmaster blocked by holding the hockey stick horizontally. Sportsmaster pushed David back, creating space between them and the two skilled fighters started circling each other warily.

"Not bad. You've got some moves," Sportsmaster said, smirking under his mask.

David stayed silent, his eyes narrowed as he waited for an opportunity to strike.

"I can see why Marksbury hired me," Sportsmaster continued. "You're a real threat to his business and his children,"

"_Children_?" David repeated. For a split second he was surprised at the use of the plural, having thought that Marksbury only had a son. Sportsmaster took that opportunity to swing. David leaned back and his own attacks in response forced Sportsmaster to retreat, leaving them both to circle again.

"Yeah. He tends to keep his daughter a secret. Probably cause her mother is a woman he had an affair with. You know how these rich businessmen are. Especially the ones who travel,"

David wasn't sure if Sportsmaster was trying to distract him again, or just rambling, but he didn't time to figure out. The longer he stayed, the more chance there was of guards showing up. "You can gossip later," David said.

Sportsmaster shrugged, seeing his distraction tactic wasn't going to work twice and charged again. Sportsmaster swung from the left and David raised both his sticks to block. Sportsmaster then shifted his grip and stance to swing from the right and hooked David's eskrima in the curved part of the hockey stick. The thrust continued down, forcing the sticks out of David's hands and on to the ground. As they clattered on the metal floor, Sportsmaster swung for a third time. David ducked under it and reached up, putting his left hand on the hockey stick and punching Sportmaster's stomach with his right fist.

David then grabbed the hockey stick with both hands and tried to pull it out of Sportmaster's grasp as the mercenary pulled back. They tugged back and forth, glaring at each other. Without warning, David suddenly did a backwards roll. As Sportsmaster was brought forwards, David put both legs on his opponent's chest and used the momentum of the roll and a thrust from his legs to flip Sportsmaster over. Sportsmaster was sent flying upside down and backwards into metal railing where he struck his head and was knocked unconscious. David stood and broke the hockey stick over his knee.

David was about to drop the pieces when he paused. He looked at the sharp, pointed piece of broken wood in his hand and at the dangerous killer, lying in a heap before him. It would be easy to land the final blow now. David gripped the wood tightly then threw it away in disgust at the thoughts he was having. David wasn't a killer and he had sworn he never would be again. He picked up his own eskrima sticks and went back to work. He set the explosive, along with a few others. As he made his way out, David dragged Sportsmaster out of the engine room. He then triggered the explosives, irreparably damaging the engines and blasting a hole in the hull. The sound and heat woke Sportsmaster up, but by then David was already gone.

Escape had been easy amid the chaos as the guards tried to figure out what happened and evacuate the boat. David sat in his own speedboat, far away from the cargo ship. He watched with a pair of binoculars, to make sure that every single crew member got off safely, even Sportsmaster. Once the crew had evacuated, David turned on his boat and sped off. He had some research to do. As he cut through the dark waters, David silently hoped that Marksbury's daughter was nothing like her father and brother. His hopes weren't very high.


	3. Sunrise

Young Andile crouched down, getting into position as he prepared to run. He wore clothing similar to that of a Zulu tribe member, but with some changes. Rather than the common amashoba, cow tails worn on the legs and upper arms, he wore tight bindings. The ibeshu and isinene, back and front aprons respectively of the umutsha belt and garment around his waist, were made of a material that appeared to be durable, yet sleek. He wore the same material around his upper torso. The entire outfit was coloured grey with faint orange triangles around his neck and two light green stripes down his front. His clothing wasn't simply made for tradition, it was made for speed.

Andile looked forward as his bare feet dug into the dirt below him. He closed his eyes to help himself focus. He shut out all distractions. He shut out the voices of the others in his tribe telling him he was a fool for believing his father could still be alive after being missing for years. He shut out the elders telling him that he will have to one day take on the same role his father did as Impala, and his own doubts about doing so. He kept his eyes closed and simply listened to the sounds of the jungle around him. He opened his eyes and his lips curved into a smirk then he pushed himself forward and took off.

Instantly, the jungle became a green and brown blur. The sounds of the animals were replaced by the sound of rushing wind. Andile's smirk became a wide grin as he rushed around trees and animals that appeared to be almost standing still. He glanced up flock of colourful birds hovered in place above him and almost ended up running into a tree. He weaved around it and sped up more. Soon, he left the jungle behind, and was running in wide open plains. He passed a herd of impala, his own namesake. Some of them were frozen in midair, their agile bodies in the middle of a jump. Andile veered around, eventually coming to a river. He sped by a family of hippos taking a drink and ran on the surface of the water itself. His speed kept him from breaking surface tension and falling in as he left a trail of water spray behind him. He left the water to run on solid ground again. He came across a pack of elephants and slid under the largest one, not slowing down. Another moment of running later, Andile saw a tall giraffe ahead of him. He ran right towards it and jumped at the last moment. He propelled himself over the giraffe, waving his arms and laughing as he did. When he came back down, he landed with expert agility and continued his run, going on for another mile. He finally slowed and stopped, breathing heavily. He looked out into the distance and saw Mount Kilimanjaro rising over the horizon.

Andile sat and looked at the majesty of the mountain as he allowed himself a moment of relaxation. When he was ready, he got back into his runner's stance. He looked ahead, knowing he had the whole continent to explore. With a grin, he zipped off again.

Having started their work late at night, the sun was coming up when Vixen and Anansi were searching in the second storage building used by Blood Tiger. The building was empty, but the drag marks and patches in the dust on the ground indicated that it had been cleared out recently.

"They must have moved everything out when they knew we were coming," Vixen stated. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking annoyed.

"For a gang named after a tiger, they are very similar to rats," Anansi said, idly twirling his staff. "You mentioned that Blood Tiger said something about his buyers…?"

"Yes. One, even he has no information on, but the other is connected to The Scarlet Dragons. A Chinese triad," Vixen replied, recalling her conversation with the gang leader.

"Hm. What could he have that would attract the attention of a gang from another country? Unless these so-called dragons have another connection that we don't know about,"

"Possibly…If I still had my JLI resources, I could look into that. But there is someone else I could talk to. I just need to give him a call,"

Anansi nodded. "Then do that. But after a rest. We've both been up all night and I know I could use some sleep. I'm sure you could too, sister,"

Vixen's glanced at Anansi, with an eyebrow slightly raised.

"Not by blood, of course," Anansi added. "But you know what I mean,"

"I do," Vixen replied as she stretched. As she walked out, she passed Anansi and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for the help, Enitan. I'll see you later,"

The two parted and went their separate ways as the sunrise cast long shadows behind them.

David sat before a monitor in a small apartment in the middle of Tinasha. The computer it was attached to didn't look impressive. In fact, it was made of several parts, stuck together with wires messily crossing each other. It definitely wasn't the system he had when he worked as Batwing, but that had been destroyed when a mercenary blew up his former base of operations. Still, it was powerful enough to do what it needed to. Within moments, he had found information on Myranda Marksbury, the daughter Philip Marksbury kept secret.

David's screen showed the image of a young woman with a beige skin tone, deep brown eyes, and short, yet poofy, curly hair. She was in her early twenties and an overachiever, if her records were any indication. High marks in class and exceeding in athletics too. Myranda didn't seem to be anything like her brother, who was just coasting of their father's money and influence. She even had her own apartment, right in Tinasha. David would have to do further research to find out what she was really like, and he couldn't do that sitting at a computer. He would have to pay her a visit.

Andile's morning run had let him to a Ugandan forest. The thickness of the trees limited his speed as he darted between them. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and listen to the sounds of nature again. At least, he would have if it hadn't been interrupted by the sound of gunfire. He moved towards the source of the mysterious sounds and heard a rustling in the leaves to his right. With loud cries and hollers, a group of gorillas burst out from the foliage. Andile dashed behind a tree to get out of their way and saw what they're running from. Several armed men, carrying guns, knives and nets. Andile's fists clenched tightly as one of the poachers raised their rifle to shoot a gorilla. The hunter squeezed the trigger and the bullet burst out, spinning slowly as it left the gun. Andile was already running, even as fire and smoke came out the barrel. He saw the bullet on its deadly path and put himself between the projectile and its target. Andile reached out and plucked the bullet out of the air. He then realized how hot it was and that caused him to drop it as the world started moving at normal speed again. From the hunter's perspective, what they saw was a boy who appeared out of nowhere after the shot was fired. He stood in their way, so they didn't care where he came from.

"Shoot him!" Their leader demanded and the hunters took aim.

The gorillas were long gone but Andile couldn't focus on them. He was dodging between the bullets that were now flying at him. He weaved between them easily and started to smile as he did. In a flash, he sped past all the poachers. It took them a moment to realize their guns were gone from their hands and in a pile at Andile's feet. He smirked at their shocked expressions but it disappeared when they all charged with their knives. He burst forward with extreme speed. To them, all they saw was a blur then nothing as they were knocked unconscious in a matter of seconds. Andile grinned widely again. He had just stopped a crime in progress. He was starting to feel like his father.

Andile's good feeling didn't get to last long. He heard a high pitched sound behind him, and just as he turned, something exploded close to him. Andile was thrown by the blast into a tree. His head hit the tree and he slumped down. His vision was blurry and fading and he thought that maybe that was causing him to hallucinate. What he saw couldn't be real. It was a pack of gorillas, but different. They were taller, with larger skulls, and futuristic weapons and armour. The largest of them wore a gold coloured helmet and his weapon was still smoking. Andile's ears were ringing, but he was sure he heard one of the gorillas say the word 'Grodd'. He looked up as his vision faded and saw a large object descending from the sky just before he blacked out.

David stood in the bedroom of a large apartment. He looked out the glass double doors, across the balcony and to the morning sun. It had been simple to get into the building without being seen and break into the apartment. Now the detective work started. He crept around, inspecting the place, trying to find what secrets Myranda kept hidden in her home. The phone on his belt started to buzz as he opened a closet. He mentally kicked himself for having it on in the first place and took it out.

"Hello?" David spoke in a hushed whisper. Few people had this number, so the call had to be important, but he wasn't exactly in a comfortable situation here.

"David?" Answered a female voice on the other end. "It's Mari,"

"Mari…?" David's mind went to his close friend when he heard her voice over the phone. He pushed the thoughts back. He couldn't think about her now. "This isn't a good time,"

"Why? Is something wrong?" Mari sounded concerned and David actually almost told her what she was doing, but before he could, he heard the sound of the apartment door opening.

"Damn…I'll call you back," David said quickly and hung up before Mari could respond. He looked for a place to hide, but it would be impossible to get to one in time. The sound of footsteps was already closing in on the bedroom. He reached for the grapple gun on his belt and dashed towards the glass doors leading to the balcony just as the bedroom door opened.

Myranda gasped when she saw the masked man in her room. She had simply wanted to take a nap after a busy day in class, and definitely wasn't expecting any company. "Who are you? What are you doing here!?" Myranda demanded, her voice only shaking a little. David didn't respond to her. In fact, he barely looked back as he burst through the doors. He vaulted over the edge of the balcony and threw himself off the building. As he fell he turned to aim his grapple gun at the side of the building, already calculating the swing he would have to make to survive this. His quick thinking was interrupted when he noticed his fall slowing down. The wind that was rushing by him seemed to have slowed down and was now holding him up. He looked upwards and saw Myranda there, hovering on a cushion of air and looking _very_ unhappy.

Andile's eyes snapped open as he felt himself being shaken awake. The first thing he saw was another gorilla. This one had gold coloured fur and looked as large as the others. Andile quickly jumped back and stood.

"Stay back!" Andile said, raising his fists.

"Easy, lad" The gorilla said, somehow speaking with a British accent that made him sound like a man of prestige. "You were just unconscious. What's your name…?"

"My name…is Andile," the young man held a hand to his skull. "I'm…my father is Impala. What's going on here?"

"My name is William Glenmorgan, but you can call me Congorilla. That other ape that shot you, he goes by the name Grodd. He saw those hunters when you did. I suppose he felt enough kinship with these gorillas to stop and help them, and any human be damned. Including you," The large half man, half animal explained. "But that's not the important part, so listen up. He and his mates are planning to attack a city. A little show of force before the start of a full scale invasion,"

"Why is he doing this…?" Andile was confused, but this particular gorilla seemed to be on his side. At least more so than the ones that tried to kill him.

"He's the newly-crowned king of GorillaCity, long story, don't ask. He had them build a flying warship and he's heading west as we speak. He isn't happy with just GorillaCity. He wants the world. I've been tracking him, but his ship is too fast for me to keep up with. I know where he's heading though,"

"Fast? I can do fast. Where's he going?" Andile speaks confidently, the fogginess in his head already gone.

"A city called Tinasha. It's all the way on the west coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If your father is who you say, I'm sure you can reach them in time. Maybe you can warn the people. I'll join you when I can," Congorilla's expression looks relieved. He had only just met Andile, but was confident in the young man's ability.

"Don't worry. I'll have them dealt with before you even get there," Andile gives the large golden gorilla man a nod and a smirk before running off.

"Tally-ho," Congorilla said, though his words of encouragement already too far away for Andile to hear.

_Back in Tinasha…_

"I'll ask once more," Myranda said, her voice sounding like she was putting a lot of concentration into creating these strange wind patterns. "Who. Are. You?"

"I'll explain, but I think it would be best to have this conversation on solid ground…" Dave replied calmly. He had seen many strange things in his time. It didn't take him long to recover from a surprise, though this was more than unexpected. He hadn't seen anything to indicate that the young woman above him had any form of superpowers.

Myranda kept watching David, internally debating what to do next. The strain on her was getting worse so she relented. The winds carried her and David back up her balcony. Myranda made sure to drop David uncomfortably on his behind.

"Thanks…" David grumbled sarcastically as he stood. "You want answers, fine. I'm here because…"

David trailed off when he noticed Myranda's expression. It was full of shock and she wasn't even looking at him. He turned to see a massive flying airship. It soared in then hovered above the city. The airship was gargantuan and had an ellipsoid shape. The hull was made of a thick metal and coloured a dark gold, with ridges along the sides. The underside of the ship had four large, metallic circles protruding from it which sparked with bright electricity. These somehow held the ship in the air as several ports opened on the front. Pods started launching out from the ports, dropping gorilla shock troops onto the unsuspecting city below.

"Oh my god…" Myranda breathed quietly. "What _is_ that?"

David stared up at the ship for a long moment, not letting his shock show on his face. Instead, with a strange calmness, he took out his phone again.

"You're making a phone call!? Now!?" Myranda said, surprised and confused by the absurdity of it all.

David just glanced at her as he selected a contact on his short list "I told someone I'd call them back…"

At the east end of the city, Andile arrived just in time to see that he's too late. The army was moving through the streets, rounding people up. Any resistance was quickly met with deadly force. Cannons extended from the airship and took aim at the buildings. Andile looked on with determination and ran right in, towards the army. Gorilla warfare had begun.


	4. Gorilla Warfare

Vixen was already on the move the moment she heard the news, just before her TV stopped working. The airship was over the east end according to reports and she made her way there with animalistic speed and agility. Vixen jumped on top of a car and leapt up. She grabbed the horizontal bar of a streetlight and swung around it like a gymnast before perching on top. She took a moment to survey the airship above the city. From what she could gather, bizarre as it was, it was piloted by hyper intelligent gorillas that had enough firepower to easily incapacitate the Tinasha police department. They needed help. The kind that she could provide.

Unaware that Vixen didn't even have her phone on her, David tried calling several times. In each attempt he was unable to contact Mari or even get a signal at all. He looked up at the ship. Scanners activated in his goggles. They showed a faint energy field coming off the ship.

"Damn. That thing is blocking my signal and probably doing the same to others. We're on our own," David said as he clicked the scanners off.

"What? We!? There's no 'we' here! I don't even know you! Or what's going on here!" Myranda responded with panic. The air around her seemed to quiver as she did. "That _thing _is dropping _gorillas_ with _guns_!"

"No. You don't know me. And you don't have any reason to trust me, but that's not important," David said, trying to reach her. "What _is_ important is that whatever is happening here, someone has to stop it. I'm going in there, but I could use your help. Innocent people might be killed. Unless you and I save them,"

Myranda stared at David then slowly nodded. "Okay...okay. I can't hide forever...What do you want me to do?"

"I need a lift down. And I'm hoping you can use your powers in a fight,"

"I've never tried before,"

"Now's a good time to start," David said as he pulled out his eskrima sticks. He looked down at the gorillas closing in on the building as he felt the wind lift him and Myranda over the balcony. David saw some of the troops taking people somewhere behind enemy lines. He wondered where, and decided to make it a point to find out.

Officer Kia Okura knew exactly where the captured civilians were and if she could, she would tell David, but at the moment she was pinned down. She and other members of the Tinasha PD were being overrun by the gorillas close to the La Bomba nightclub. The gorillas had been gathering their hostages in there and the police's attempt to rescues them was currently not going her way. Captain Sita called out to her, telling her to watch her side. Kia turned to see a gorilla coming towards her. She raised her gun, a Walther PPK, and fired several shots. Each bullet was deflected off the gorilla's armour. Kia stood her ground as the hyper intelligent animal raised a rifle shaped laser weapon. A near miss shot caused her to stumble and fall back. Kia was expecting to hear a final shot, but instead there was a humming sound and a flash of blue light behind the gorilla. The gorilla slumped over as though it had been stunned and a woman stood behind it.

The woman wore a black shirt and pants, covered by a dark olive green M65 field jacket. She had brown boots and a brown belt over the jacket. On her head she wore a maroon scarf that wrapped around and flowed off her neck. In her hands were two swords that were made of blue energy. Sparks like electricity flowed up the swords to the tip and they made a low humming sound like a constant vibration. The energy swords dissipated and the woman offered her hand to help Kia up.

"You…I know you…" Kia said as she took the woman's hand and stood. "You're that vigilante. Dawn…You and Batwing rescued my niece,"

"No time to catch up," Dawn said. "Get your people to cover me. The apes' shielding is weaker at the joints. Target them there,"

Kia nodded and moved closer to her fellow officers as Dawn jumped into the fray. Energy sparked in her hands, making a loud 'KEEEESH!' sound as the swords reappeared. She slashed downwards with both, cutting through the armour of the closest gorilla. The energy zapped the ape, stunning it out of commission. Dawn brought both swords back up in front of her and spun them rapidly, deflecting the blasts from the other gorillas firing at her. Meanwhile, the Tinasha PD fired on the gorillas' weak points, pushing them back. Dawn leapt into the air and spun, striking several enemies near her. She landed just as the group of apes fall. The rest are forced to retreat. Dawn's energy swords fade again. It was getting harder for her to keep the swords solid, but it had been a while since she acted as a vigilante, rather than a hired killer. Back in Dawn's more heroic days, the swords had been her weapons of choice. The police move past her to the club and Kia gives Dawn a quick thanks. Dawn nodded and dashed off, already looking for more of the gorillas. If nothing else, they would be good practice.

A group of gorillas made their way south along the eastern end on Tinasha. Their leader was an ape known as Lieutenant Pryemaul, who wore red tinted armour, distinguishing it from the gray wore by the others. He grinned maliciously, showing two long sharp teeth that were stained with what looked like blood. The others with him followed in tight formation. Pryemaul paused upon receiving a message from the radio built into his helmet. His unit stopped and waited for orders as he turned around.

"I just got word that the soldiers west of our position are encountering resistance. Superhuman resistance," Pryemaul paced before his unit. "We are to join them and take care of this little issue while Grodd prepares his secret weapon,"

Pryemaul grinned again as he licked his teeth. "Let us hope the humans at least make it interesting,"

The apes were about to move out when a blur burst through them. Two of the apes made a grunting sound as the blur knocked them out when it passed. The others raised their weapons and searched for where it came from. The blur appeared again, taking out three more gorillas as it darted between their ranks. Pryemaul growled deeply, baring his fangs. One by one, his unit was struck by the blur and disarmed, soon leaving him on his own.

"You may as well show yourself…unless you are a coward, human," Pryemaul taunted.

Andile stopped running and stood his ground a short distance from Lieutenant Pryemaul.

"Your army isn't as strong as you think," Andile retorted.

"Irritating insect," Pryemaul growls. "Do you really think you can beat _me_? Do you really think you're fast en-"

The rest of Pryemaul's sentence was cut off by Andile speeding towards him. Andile unleashed a flurry of super speed punches, one hundred in only five seconds. Pryemaul was stunned and fell to one knee. Andile used both fists to strike Pryemaul in the jaw, sending his opponent down.

"Fast enough?" Andile said with a grin. "I'm positive I am,"

Feeling confident, Andile turned his back on Pryemaul, intending to run to his next fight. There was a loud animal roar from behind him and in the split second it took him to turn around, Pryemaul was already on top of him. The young speedster fell onto his back as the gorilla lieutenant attempt to tear his throat out with blood stained teeth. Andile pushed up on Pryemaul's chest but it was barely enough. He tried to focus on using his super speed to escape, but panic had thrown off his concentration. Just as Andile thought he was about to die before he could even finish his first real mission as a hero, a man in a wide brimmed hat and a cloak jumped on Pryemaul's back. The man stuck a wooden staff in between the gorilla's teeth.

"I think you need _less_ meat in your diet," Anansi quipped as he held on to the staff. Pryemaul moved backwards off of Andile as he tried to throw the cloaked hero off his back. Andile took that opportunity to stand and recover. Anansi moved his staff from Pryemaul's mouth to the ape's throat, trying to cut off his air. Pryemaul thrashed and twisted causing Anansi to lose his grip. He rolls through the air and landed in a crouch beside Andile with his staff in still in hand. Both prepared for battle against their enraged opponent.

West of them, the last of the gorilla unit that had called for backup finds himself flying through a window. Vixen stands in the street, dusting her hands off. She had been taking on all the gorillas she could find on her way here, with the intention of getting to the ship, but she still had no idea how to take it down. She glared up at it and just as she did, a loud sound came from the ship and a deep, growling voice came from speakers the floating airship, speaking with malice and menace.

"Humans. My name is Gorilla Grodd. I have travelled from my home in Gorilla City to your squalor in order to claim your settlement as part of my new empire. You should know by now that my forces cannot be stopped. They cannot be evaded. They cannot be opposed. You cannot escape, or call for help. There are some among you who believe yourselves to be heroes and withstand the coming change. The coming evolution of this world. To them, I say this. Those who surrender, may live as slaves and cattle of the Grodd empire. Those who resist...I and my hordes will feast on your bones. This is your chance to decide whether you will live to see the next age of man and ape, or if you will be another body among the foundations,"

After the speech, Myranda was scared, but not for the first time. She had already lost count of how many times her heart skipped. She was a student, not a superhero,. She shouldn't even be here. Still, some part of her pressed on and she let that guide her actions. Moving her hand in a sweeping motion, she caused a wind current to lift several gorilla soldiers and toss them away. Her attacks varied between strong gusts and small puffs of air. Myranda had avoided using her powers for so long. She hoped she'd be able to live to figure them out.

Close to Myranda, David fought with his own style. He had to keep moving to avoid getting grabbed or hit with a laser blast. His mask had already been torn by a lucky hit, though the goggles were still functional. David's eskrima sticks hadn't proven to be very effective against the gorilla's armour, but blows to the head could stun them enough for Myranda to blow them away. Having not expected a fight, he currently had a limited number of small grenades and smoke bombs. He would wait for the right time to use them. He knew well that whenever things looked bad, they could easily get worse.

Anansi and Andile were currently learning that the hard way. Pryemaul had proven to be a tough adversary and managed to take them both on his own. Anansi was up close to Pryemaul, using his staff to strike the gorilla lieutenant. Pryemaul blocked most of the attacks and responded with a punch that knocked Anansi backwards. Andile sped in quickly to replace him. He ran in rapid circles around Pryemaul, pummelling the ape with random punches from multiple angles. It worked to keep Pryemaul off balance for a few moments until he reached out with a back handed smack into the rapid blur. Andile ran right into the large hand, causing himself to fall and skid right into Anansi. The veteran hero quickly helped the young rookie to his feet.

"We need a plan of attack, my fast friend," Anansi said as he kept his eyes on Pryemaul, who was recovering from Andile's last move.

"The plan is to beat this monkey until he falls!" Andile responded. Before he could start running, Anansi reached out with his staff to block the boy's path.

"Patience..."Anansi said calmly.

Pryemaul looked at them both with his same blood stained grin. "Have you given up? Good. Human blood is so much sweeter when they're afraid,"

"What are we waiting for!?" Andile demanded as Pryemaul stood to his full height.

Anansi merely smirked as the sound of loud stomps and a thunderous female roar erupted across the street. Before any of the three could react, Vixen ploughed into Pryemaul with the strength of a white rhinoceros. She continued to charge, then thrust Pryemaul into the air. Pryemaul soared for a moment before crashing into the side of a bus. The vehicle creaked loudly as the force caused it to tip over. After it landed on its' side, only the unconscious groans of the ape inside could be heard. Vixen stopped channelling the strength of a rhino and briefly touched the totem on her belt before she turned to Anansi and Andile.

"I guess this makes us even," Anansi said, still smirking.

"Only if you forget all the other times I've saved you from trouble," Vixen replied as she walked over. Anansi shrugged innocently and smiled in response. Vixen turned her attention to Andile. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Andile," the boy quickly responds. "I am Kid Impala," He hesitated before adding his chosen name with a confident edge in his voice. He was certain his father was alive and still owned the right to the title of Impala, but Andile was still part of that legacy.

"You wouldn't happen to be the successor to Impala, would you?" Anansi asked. "I've only met him once, but he seemed to be a great man. Though he's missing, from what I hear,"

Andile looked down briefly "He's...somewhere. He's told me about other African heroes and I know you two. Anansi and Vixen, right?"

"Right," Vixen said. "And we need to move. We can't take down that ship from here,"

"It stopped dropping troops," Anansi said while thinking. "Maybe it will be less guarded?"

"Or they have more in reserve," Vixen responded.

"Either way, we have to stop them," Andile said, while clenching his fists.

"Agreed. We'll make our way there and deal with any civilians or gorilla soldiers we come across," Vixen ordered. The trio then sent off for the ship. Andile ran faster than even Vixen's cheetah speed, so he was the first to come across the strange sight before them only minutes later. He saw a tornado sweeping up several gorillas and spinning them rapidly. In the middle of the tornado was a woman, and she was the most beautiful woman the young hero had ever set his eyes on. He was in a daze for just enough time to allow Vixen and Anansi to catch up. Vixen, on the other hand, was more interested in the man she saw there, in particular the part of his face that she could see. She called on the eyesight of an eagle to get a clearer look and it confirmed her suspicions.

"David?" Vixen said with a gasp.

Myranda's hair was being brushed about by the winds surrounding her as sweat formed on her brow. She made the tornado fade instantly, tossing the gorillas caught in it to fly off in various directions before being knocked out by their landing. With all of them downed, she leaned forward with her hands on her knees. The strain was getting to her and she really needed a rest. David walked over to her as he lifted his goggles to his forehead.

"How are you doing?" David asked. He offered her a hand to help her stand, which Myranda gladly took.

"Been better. I feel like I just ran two marathons..." Myranda answered as she leaned on David. She looked up and saw a group of people getting closer to them. David noticed them too, but didn't at all seem fazed.

"Who are they?" Myranda asked.

"Allies...and back up," David replied.

This time, Vixen was the first to reach David and Myranda. She had a questioning look and didn't take her eyes off David's face.

"David, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with the police?" Vixen asked.

"Mar-Vixen, it's been some time since we last met," David catches himself and avoids using Vixen's real name. "I left the force some time ago,"

"What? Why? How could Matu just let you do that?"

"He...he's dead," responded with a sad look in his eyes. "He died right before I left. I've been busy since then,"

"Matu died? David, I'm so sorry. If I had known..."

"We can't focus on that now. There's work to do," David interjected as he looked behind Vixen "I recognize Anansi, but who's the other?"

"That's Kid Impala. He has the same super speed and agility that Impala does, from what I've gathered," Vixen replied in a more level tone, getting her thoughts back on track. "What about your friend here?"

"Myranda," the girl blurted out, looking uneasy and feeling awkward among others who seemed to have a better handle on fighting bad people than she ever could. "Just...Myranda,"

"I saw that tornado. You aren't 'just' anything," Andile spoke up, talking rapidly. Myranda smiled at his comment and he couldn't help but do the same.

"Okay, we all know each other and what we can do," David said, taking charge. "It's possible we're all that's left to stop this invasion. We need to-"

David gets cut off by a loud sound from the airship's engines. The heroes present turned their gaze upwards as the ship began to move towards them.

"There you are," Grodd's voice rang out again from the ship as it approached. "You humans. Too arrogant to realize we were tracking each one of you. However, I should be grateful. You've saved me the trouble of hunting you individually."

The airship was right over them now and a pod was dropped from the underside. The impact of it landing knocked the group off their feet. The pod was much larger than all the others and a terrible snarling could be heard inside.

"Rather than stoop down and dirty my own hands, I'll let my secret weapon deal with your insubordination. I will simply enjoy the show. Though I don't expect it to last long," Grodd mocked from above.

A massive metal hand, shaped like an ape's, punched a whole out from inside the pod. Another followed it as the beast within tore the metal apart from the inside. Out of the wreckage stepped a colossal and imposing gorilla that appeared to be at least eight feet tall. Its fur was jet black. Its hands appeared to be cybernetic and the mechanical parts went all the way down to the shoulder. Along its arms and chest were many fiery orange lines that looked like circuitry, which all ran up to its skull. The enormous gorilla's eyes burned with the same colour. It roared, revealing a mouth full of burning hot plasma. With its' mouth open, the beast spat pure fire towards the humans before it. They were forced to scramble away before regrouping. Each of them readied themselves for battle as the creature approached, full of fire, rage, and death.

* * *

**((It's been criminally long since I last posted a chapter, and I apologize. I grateful for every view that I get and though my schedule may get busy soon, I'm hoping I can get back to posting with less wait for all of you. Thanks again.))**


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